BROOKLYN — Police officers shot and critically wounded a suspected car thief in Williamsburg on Thursday night after he opened fire on cops, police said.

The mayhem unfolded around 11:30 p.m. after Dahan Sam, 29, was pulled over for having expired plates on what was later discovered to be a stolen SUV, then sped away, police said.

The officers sent out a description of Sam and a sergeant spotted him walking with another man nearby, police said Friday. The sergeant flagged down a nearby police car and directed those officers toward Sam, according to officials. The two men bolted when police approached, officials said.

A group of officers chased Sam into the Williams Plaza Houses at 255 Havemeyer St., where he tried to climb over a fence, but tripped, police said.

That's when Sam drew a 9 mm handgun, police said.

"I heard a bunch of cops yelling, 'Drop your weapon,'" said Danny Soto, 35, who lives in the housing complex. “It was like out of a movie."

Sam allegedly fired twice, prompting the officers to unleash nine shots — seven from one officer's weapon and two from another's — all within a range of 4 to 8 feet, police said.

Another witness from the building said he heard the shooting, ran outside and saw Sam lying on his stomach wearing a gray hoodie.

"It looked like he was in pain," said Aaron Kinard, 24. "He was moaning. They took off all his clothes and were checking his body and legs." The suspect was still moving and breathing when he was taken away, Kinard said.

Sam was rushed to Bellevue Hospital where he was listed in critical condition, police officials said.

Sam's gun was purchased in North Carolina, according to police.

The second man Sam had been walking with remains at large because the officers chasing him changed course when they heard the shots fired, police said.

None of the officers was injured in the encounter, officials said.

The shooting came on the heels of an annual NYPD report that said the number of times police fired their weapons at suspects remained low in 2011.

Interesting that two trained police officers firing from a range of only 4-8 feet, could not kill the perp with nine shots.

As far as I know, most police officers are only required to train twice a year, so that's how often they train. That, factored in with adrenaline out the ass and someone shooting at you, they're not going to be perfect every time, so it's understandable that they weren't perfect.

Should look up the officers and see how many times they've had to use their firearm in the line of duty before, I bet it's either none, or once before.

Aside from that, four seasoned NYPD undercover officers cornered Amadou Diallo in a doorway and when they thought he was reaching for a gun they only managed to hit him 19 times out of 41 shots. In a narrow doorway!

So should the NYPD throw away their G-17 pistols and 124-grain Gold Dot +P ammo and what the Diallo detectives were carrying?

We know the answer to that because we know there is no "magic bullet" or "always perfect" shots under extreme duress. Mas Ayoob, in one of his articles, wrote of an LEO who chased a fleeing suspect at night only to be ambushed from the side of a garage. The LEO/suspect were at arms length firing away with neither able to hit the other until the officer remembered "acquire a sight picture".

Real world events don't follow strict science or scripts so the best advice is to maintain your self-defense weapon at the highest level and to keep shooting until the threat is neutralized.

Aside from that, four seasoned NYPD undercover officers cornered Amadou Diallo in a doorway and when they thought he was reaching for a gun they only managed to hit him 19 times out of 41 shots. In a narrow doorway!

So should the NYPD throw away their G-17 pistols and 124-grain Gold Dot +P ammo and what the Diallo detectives were carrying?

We know the answer to that because we know there is no "magic bullet" or "always perfect" shots under extreme duress. Mas Ayoob, in one of his articles, wrote of an LEO who chased a fleeing suspect at night only to be ambushed from the side of a garage. The LEO/suspect were at arms length firing away with neither able to hit the other until the officer remembered "acquire a sight picture".

Real world events don't follow strict science or scripts so the best advice is to maintain your self-defense weapon at the highest level and to keep shooting until the threat is neutralized.

...Aside from that, four seasoned NYPD undercover officers cornered Amadou Diallo in a doorway and when they thought he was reaching for a gun they only managed to hit him 19 times out of 41 shots. In a narrow doorway!...

"It looked like he was in pain," said Aaron Kinard, 24. "He was moaning.

Hmm.

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“Out of every one hundred men, ten shouldn't even be there, eighty are just targets, nine are the real fighters, and we are lucky to have them, for they make the battle. Ah, but the one, one is a warrior, and he will bring the others back.”Heraclitus